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See what’s in our mailbox for November 2010

Where in the Hudson Valley...?

Last month, we asked you for the whereabouts of a 1920s brick building — formerly the Emma Wygant School — which features arches, a bell, and a fuzzy backstory. Our readers quickly spotted it on Route 9W in Kingston (currently the home of American Printing and Office Supplies), informing us that the school once catered to children with special needs. (No word yet if the bell still works.) Janice Shulman of Peekskill takes our prize this month; for the artistically inclined, try our quiz here, which describes a mural of epic proportions.

My sister attended this school from 1957-1961. It served kindergarten through third grade at the time. The four classes were on the main floor; the pricipal’s office was upstairs, along with the nurse’s office; and the gym was in the basement. Students ate lunch in the gym sitting on the floor. One thing that has stuck with her is that there was no refrigeration so the milk at lunch was always sour.Terri LemisterVia hvmag.com

My grandmother Anna Serravallo, now 90 years old, and anyone living in the East Kingston area went to that school.John DwyerVia hvmag.com

Tired of Take-out

I receive your magazine and I really enjoy it — every month I look up new restaurants to try and there are plenty of good ones. My only complaint is that there are no Chinese restaurants except for dreadful takeout! I’m surprised, since Chinese is very popular everywhere else. Diane BouvierValley Cottage

Last Stop, USA

I grew up in Piermont from 1945 to 1965. As a teen I met a German fellow who had the only gas station in Sparkill. His name was Horst Heinlein, known by everyone as Hans. Hans had been a Luftwaffe pilot in the war flying the ME109. He was shot down and captured. He escaped and got back to Germany to fly again. He was shot down again, and this time he was shipped to Camp Shanks, where he stayed until the war’s end when he was returned to Germany. He said he liked it here so much, he came back and settled in Sparkill and bought the station which he ran for years. He has since passed away. Good man.Ed BeachPleasant View, TNVia hvmag.com

In our Spa Week rundown (“Autumn Tune-up,” October), we mistakenly included spas which are not participating in the program. Sign up for sugar foot scrubs at Buttermilk Inn and Spa in Milton, as well as at a dozen spots in nearby Rockland, Westchester, and Albany counties. See www.spaweek.com for the complete list.

Tight Squeeze

Several readers alerted us to a misstatement in “25 More Things Every Hudson Valleyite Must Do” (August). In “Hike Through the Lemon Squeeze,” we say that the Mohonk Preserve’s famed rock formation can be reached via the Appalachian Trail. Mohonk is in Ulster County; the Appalachian Trail, however, doesn’t extend into Ulster, although it does run through Harriman State Park in Orange County — where, coincidentally, hikers can find the similarly named Lemon Squeezer, another narrow rock formation, near the summit of Island Pond Mountain. Apparently we got our claustrophia-causing hiking spots confused; our apologies for the error.